A microbiome is an ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, archaea, viruses) that are associated with an organism. The human microbiome comprises over 10 times more microbial cells than human cells, but characterization of the human microbiome is still in nascent stages due to limitations in sample processing techniques, genetic analysis techniques, and resources for processing large amounts of data. Nonetheless, the microbiome is suspected to play at least a partial role in a number of health/disease-related states (e.g., preparation for childbirth, diabetes, auto-immune disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatoid disorders, neurological disorders, etc.). Given the profound implications of the microbiome in affecting an individual's health, efforts related to the characterization of the microbiome and generation of insights from the characterization should be pursued. Current methods and systems that attempt to analyze the microbiomes of humans, at individual and population-wide levels have, however, been largely unsuccessful, leaving many questions unanswered.
As such, there is a need in the field of microbiology for a new and useful method and system for performing microbiome analysis. This invention creates such a new and useful method and system.